In this ground–breaking new book on the Nortena/Surena (North/South) youth gang dynamic, cultural anthropologist and linguist Norma Mendoza–Denton looks at the daily lives of young Latinas and their innovative use of speech, bodily practices, and symbolic exchanges to signal their gang affiliations and ideologies. She analyzes their use of language as well as social and cultural practices such as the circulation of poetry, photographs, and drawings, and also their practices around makeup and bodily presentation. Through this detailed exploration, Homegirls examines the localized North–South rivalry between the bilingual, English–speaking and Americanized Norte girls and the Mexican or Latin–American–oriented, Spanish–speaking Sur girls. Mendoza–Denton uncovers a new dimension to studies of youth styles, where gang members are innovative not only in terms of dress, make–up, and music, but also by participating in crucial processes of language variation and change. This...